I have to carry a lot of gear on my trips so I was looking to switch my trusty Aura 65 AG for something larger and better suited for very heavy loads. The new Ariel Plus line was just released and I immediately bought the 85L model. Now that it's been about a year I'm ready to share the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good: - this pack is easy to load - it has lots of pockets and all the features that I loved in my Aura (trekking poles loops, adjustable hipbelt, separate sleeping bag compartment, and external sleeping pad straps) plus features that are specific to the Ariel and are missing on Aura (side access to the main compartment, additional compression straps, the daypack top lid, etc.). It could've been the best pack I've ever owned, I really wanted to like it. The bad: - new sizing. This is my biggest gripe with this pack as there's nothing that can be done to fix this issue. I'm 5'8"" 100 lbs female, with a torso length between the S and M and a very small waist. The old sizing let me buy a pack with the right torso size and swap the interchangeable belt for the size I need, or buy an S/M pack with an adjustable belt and tighten it to the max. Now I have to choose between the XS/S which has the hipbelt that can be tightened enough but the frame is too short for my torso, and the M/L which has the right torso length but the belt is way too large and has me carrying the load on my shoulders instead of my hips. With loads of 50-65 lbs it quickly becomes very, very uncomfortable. - the lumbar panel. It's so protruding that it actually affects my posture, and not in a good way. - I find the padding on the belt and the shoulder straps to be fairly abrasive, but that's a matter of taste. - the back ventilation is not that great - but that's a small detail and I'd have overlooked it if I liked everything else The ugly: - the worst part for me is that Ariel and Aether Plus are the only Osprey packs that are large enough for my purposes aside from switching brands
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